President Barack Obama and Rep. Jim Costa, D-Calif. walk from the Marine One helicopter toward Air Force One before traveling to Fresno, Calif., to discuss the ongoing drought, Friday, Feb. 14, 2014, at Andrews Air Force Base, Md.

AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

President Obama visited California's Central Valley to view the damage caused by the drought and announce more than 170 million dollars in federal aid.

The money is intended to help farmers, farm workers and rural communities.

"We know that we can innovate and meet this challenge, but we’ve got to start now – we can’t wait. So I want to make sure that every Californian knows – whether you’re NorCal, SoCal, here in the CV – your country is going to be here for you when you need it this year. But we’re gonna have to all work together in the years to come to make sure that we address the challenge and leave this incredible land and body to our children and our grandchildren in at least as good shape as we found it,” said the President.

Click the "Listen now" button above to hear the full 12-minute speech.

The senators and Governor Jerry Brown joined the President on the Central Valley visit. It also included what the White House calls a “community roundtable” in Firebaugh, about 45 minutes west of Fresno.

If you spent time on the water at Lake Tahoe last year and thought it looked a lot cloudier, you're right. UC Davis researchers say extreme weather — drought followed by heavy rains — caused clarity in 2017 to drop to its lowest recorded level.

Caltrans is worried about the possibility of dead trees falling onto some California highways. The agency has already removed 107,000 trees. Now the agency is getting ready to remove another 54,000 trees, including some on private land.